Travel stories and the occasional rantings of an evolving cynic who's simply in search of a little human authenticity. Tales include hitching across the Rockies with an eventual cop-killer, a weekend with a terminally-ill billionaire, meeting my siblings for the first time, trips to Mexico, and scores of random people from Mass.-Slab City-Chiapas who are often even more interesting...for better or worse!

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"The world does not reward honesty and independence, it rewards obedience and service. It’s a world of concentrated power, and those who have power are not going to reward people who question that power."-Chomsky

"The trouble with self-delusion, either in a person or a society, is that reality doesn't care what anybody believes, or what story they put out. Reality doesn't "spin." Reality does not have a self-image problem. Reality does not yield its workings to self-esteem management." -J.H. Kunstler

"You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows."-Dylan

Sunday, October 9, 2005

10/9/05: Tylertown, MS-Dog Thieves, Ringo, & New Orleans Devastation

Another beautiful Mississippi Sunday afternoon, though it's morning. Finally got a shower last night, first one since Monday. Went into Brookhaven, about 40 minutes from here, with Carrie and Jessica. A dry county.. Apparently, that means they can sell at stores, but there are no bars and you can't drink at restaurants. I'm trying very hard not to … judge this state, but it seems messed up! There are hints of Mississippi Burning corruption in the local law enforcement, too. Especially when we called the sheriff about the Deliverance Klan cutting thru fences and stealing the pit-bulls. It was a "boys-will-be-boys" response, after waiting all day for them to show up. Guarding/walking the perimeter at night, I’ve run a few off the cowards off myself. What’s funny is that so have some of the 50-year old women! Brookhaven was full of the stereotypical rednecks. Big trucks, squealing tires etc. Fuck Mississippi.

My mindset is strange. I have little emotional investment here. That ended Friday, when I returned from New Orleans. New Orleans was intense. Seeing the black water lines on the houses. Houses completely destroyed. NEIGHBORHOODS destroyed! The sites that made no logical sense; cars on their sides in yards, boats in places they just didn't belong…like roofs. The decomposing dogs still tied up in the backyard. Six Weeks after the fact!

I was amazed at what the people at the Winn-Dixie parking lot were coping with. They were doing the same things for the animals we were, with far less. Their tent was falling down from the wind. They had ropes tied to the concrete parking barriers because they are in a parking lot and couldn't tie their tents down. Sometimes, out of nowhere, you'd see people actually chasing their tents! I have tons of respect for all of them. I sensed nothing but "get it done."

I missed the high volume rescues, but went on a couple with Mark. I pictured dogs that would be thrilled to see people. Ha! These animals are traumatized. We chased, or better, tried to chase a dog at coffee warehouse for 90 minutes. That dog wanted no part of us and was quite the genius! Another in one of the neighborhoods would let us feed him, but went nuts when we got anywhere near him or his fence. None of the rescue people are using dog bite gear. I can only imagine the shit they’ve seen over the past month plus.

Rick was blindsided by a large pit bull here on Thursday. That dog was screwed up. When I walked by his cage feeding them; one second he'd seem happy in the next he was trying to tear through the fence to get me. Rick never saw him coming, and was drug 4 or 5 feet by his forearm. He wound up in the hospital all day and now has a brace on his arm. "Ringo" (he had ringworm) was put down that afternoon and tested for rabies. Everyone here seems to be pro-pitbull, but after seeing that dog I understand the laws. Some of the pits are very gentle dogs, but several seemed quite aggressive. Ringo had bitten another handler that same day.

Carrie and Jessica are leaving today; driving back to Indiana. Jessica flies back to Portland tomorrow. My new battle is to figure out what I want to do next. I not sure I want to stay here much longer. Things have settled into a routine, stabilized. They have plenty of volunteers. That's great for them, but doesn't motivate me as much as I could be. New Orleans was it. The day flew by and I did some good. I'll put that together soon, I guess.